Pilot killed as plane crashes into residential area in Taylorville

Sunday

Aug 12, 2012 at 12:01 AMAug 12, 2012 at 11:03 AM

TAYLORVILLE — Authorities say the 30-year-old pilot of a small aircraft ferrying skydivers that crashed in a Taylorville neighborhood Saturday morning saved the lives of residents by steering the plane to avoid hitting any houses.

Jason Nevel

TAYLORVILLE — Authorities say the 30-year-old pilot of a small aircraft ferrying skydivers that crashed in a Taylorville neighborhood Saturday morning saved the lives of residents by steering the plane to avoid hitting any houses.

The pilot, Brandon Sparrow of Augusta, was the lone fatality.

Sparrow was piloting the plane, which took off from the Taylorville airport and was carrying 12 skydivers, before it crashed in the back yard of a home at 801 W. Rich St. at 11:25 a.m. All of the skydivers jumped out of the plane before it went down, and all landed safely, Taylorville police and fire officials said.

Mayor Greg Brotherton, who went to the crash site, said the back yard the plane landed in was not even 75 feet wide, leaving little room for error.

“It was either an act of God, or the pilot himself put the plane down in the back yard,” Brotherton said. “We should be thankful because that plane could have hit a house and harmed others.”

The Federal Aviation Administration, which described the plane as a twin-engine Beechcraft 18, and other federal agencies were investigating. A cause of the crash won't be known for at least several weeks, authorities said.

Skies were clear at the time, with winds from the northwest at 10 to 15 mph.

Skydiving dangers

Saturday’s crash was believed to be the fourth fatal skydiving-related incident in or near Taylorville since 1997.

Saturday morning’s jump was part of a special skydiving event hosted by the Mid-America Sport Parachute Club. The event was supposed to carry on today but was canceled, according to the club’s website.

No one from the club could be reached for comment after Saturday’s accident.

The plane tore a 20- to 30-foot-wide hole into the back yard of Jerry Dobyns Sr., who lives at 801 W. Rich St.

Dobyns said he was lying on his bed watching television when he heard the loud boom, which reportedly could be heard all across Taylorville. He said pieces of the plane ended up about 30 feet from his bedroom window.

The force of the crash caused windows to shatter and pictures to be knocked off the wall, he said. The plane also crushed a doghouse in the back yard. The dog was inside with Dobyns at the time.

Dobyns' daughter, Rhonda Tester, 48, was standing in the back yard just prior to the crash, but she happened to go inside. Dobyns said he feels fortunate to be alive.

“If it was another 10 feet closer, it could have killed both of us," he said.

Silence, then a boom

With pieces of the plane scattered throughout the neighborhood, authorities ordered the evacuation of several blocks around the crash site. Some residents would likely have to stay out of their homes until today, police said.

The crash brought out many onlookers, with each person telling stories of what they were doing when the plane came down.

One man said it looked as if the plane was doing a nosedive stunt often seen at air shows.

James Welge Jr. said he was outside with his son when he heard the plane glide by. He said he heard the plane’s engine rev up extremely loud before a moment of silence, which was followed by a loud boom after it hit the ground two or three seconds later.